Thursday, November 3, 2016

Bhopal Notes :: 42 :: Diwali Blues - Thumbing Nose at Apex Court

We, in the
older part of Bhopal are still trying to catch up with our sleep after the
horrendously loud bangs on Diwali night and the night after that. These were
terrible nights and the perpetrators of this torture were particularly
sadistic. During the earlier part of the night it would be all quiet and nice.
The bangs would come later, closer to midnight and would continue up to 3.00
AM. One would be rudely shaken out of sleep if ever one managed to literally
steal forty winks. Their mission seemed to have been not to allow sleep in the
neighbourhood regardless of age or sickness of those who happened to be around.

These young
sadists were thumbing their noses at the Apex Court which had ordered about a
couple of years ago that loud noise including that made by fireworks would be
restricted up to 10.00 PM. That was a decent hour to collect one’s crackers and
go to bed, allowing people, particularly the seniors, a bit of quietude for
them to sleep. But no, who is going to do that? Who is going to obey the order
which they thought was issued by imbecile judges? Pleasure of self is more
important, after all, Diwali comes only once a year. What if all these high
decibels cause a little unease, especially to those who are hardly of any use
to the society, anyway?

We are
progressively becoming a third rate nation where a large chunk of the
population revels in not playing by the rules – or, for that matter, laws.
According to them laws are to be broken. Things are made easy for them in their
lawless pursuits by the lack or absence of effort to enforce them by the law
enforcement agencies. Walk out, if you can on the streets, and see the laws
being torn to tatters. Encroachments galore, handcarts choking the traffic,
which, in any case, doesn’t give a damn for the rules of the roads. These have
become death-traps where chaos and mayhem rule. Numerous precious lives have
been lost in the mad and undisciplined traffic that rules the streets. Traffic
Police treats deviances with kid gloves. There’s no enforcement though the
physical presence of the law may be visible. If daily nightmare of anarchic traffic
is not being governed who is going to take governance to annual inconveniences
of two or three nights of Diwali. This state is, perhaps, the best example of
non-governance in almost every department.

And, the claim is it is the fastest growing
state. Do non-governance and economic growth go together? More the
non-governance, the greater is the state’s gross domestic product – is that
what the government is aiming at regardless of how the citizens are hassled
every day. If that is the lot of common men why have a Department of Happiness
when people’s unhappiness quotient is being raised because of the state’s non-governance and
mis-governance.

The night after Diwali a haze hung over the
Upper Lake and most of the city. I know since I can see the vast spread of the
Lake and a tiny portion of New Bhopal from my windows. Television news channels
showed how Delhi was being choked with smog. Isn’t that a lesson for most of
the cities, particularly in the up-country? In Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and myriad
other towns normal life was impaired, children were choking and they were
forced to wear masks. Is this the future that we are leading them to – a life
of misery, bronchial allergy, emphysema, impaired respiratory health, asthma,
even cancer of lungs? After-effects of Diwali revelry continue lengthening
people’s misery. Why cannot air pollution be checked, especially that which is
created by fireworks and firecrackers in an episodic manner? The governments
have to have the will to curb, even ban such unhealthy and thoughtless
activities indulged in by even the majority community for the larger good
instead of trying to nurse their vote banks. Okay, forget about the old and the
sick; at least, think of your children, the future of the country.

While
parting a word about the Apex Court’s decision is necessary. It had come down
heavily against noise pollution between 10.00PM and 06.00AM as far back as in
2005. Its orders have been observed more in breach than in compliance. The
state governments which have the power to control this kind of pollution are
just not bothered and the politicians concerned feel that any action to curb
noise pollution caused especially because of religious sentiments would cut into
their votes. Hence complete liberty prevails in regard to creating as much
noise as one possibly can. The point that needs consideration is why issue
orders that one cannot enforce. Such instances of failure of law laid by the
Apex Court detracts from its majesty and dignity, especially when its orders
are made light of by much lesser men of the state governments.

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About Me

There would seem to be no point in talking about the position I used to hold. What is more relevant today is that I am retired from the service of government of India where I worked for thirty four years in senior positions ending just below the top of my department. I retired more than twenty years ago. To be fruitfully engaged I took to blogging and writing articles, initially, on local issues but now for years I have been writing on topical and environmental matters. The writings in the local supplement of a national daily gave me some kind of a positive identity in the town which culminated in my being nominated to be a founder member of Bhopal Citizens' Forum, a powerful pressure group. I am , I think, fruitfully engaged and I have no complaints against life.